Share this:

‘SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are genuinely predicting that less than five years from now, all life on Earth could well finish. Some say it’ll be humans that set it off. Others believe a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And religious folks say God himself will press the stop button!” So go the postings of community forums on the Web.

If you want to read this kind of stuff, just type in “2012” or “end of days.” It gets pretty scary and deep. There’s the Mayan calendar that sets Dec. 21, 2012, as the end of the world. This is backed up by theories on the Great Pyramid, in the I Ching, various Hindu teachings, Nostradamus and, of course, the biblical version of the apocalypse.

What’s spooky about this is that the Mayans calculated the length of the lunar year correctly thousands of years ago. So maybe they know what they’re talking about otherwise as well. Let’s hope not. But scientists say the winter solstice of 2012 will feature the sun “having a bit of strife.” Old Sol has been in a period of relative stability, but solar storms are now kicking up, bombarding the Earth, knocking out power grids and satellites. This could get worse because even NASA sees the sun’s magnetic poles swapping places in a move that could burn Earth to a crisp.

Physicists at Berkeley concur the world is overdue for a major catastrophic event – such as the volcano under Yellowstone Park that seems ready to erupt again and produce thousands of deaths and affiliated deaths the world over from a volcanic winter. No sun, no crops, starvation.

And then there is Eros, the second-largest near-Earth asteroid, which will pass pretty close to us in 2012 on Jan 31.

Personally, I’m a fatalist and I have never paid much mind to this kind of stuff. I’d prefer to think that all those other people are right, the ones who believe that 2012 is a portal into what believers call a new “Golden Age.” But the other night I was at dinner with a remarkable woman psychic from Florida. She hit the nail on the head answering many questions from other diners. They found her to be amazingly right. So she made me tingle with apprehension when I asked about the year 2012.

She opined that “Yes, things could be bad in that year of magical thinking. We could be struggling.” She didn’t say, however, that the world would end. I think perhaps you shouldn’t bother with that face-lift.

You might as well relax. You can’t do a damned thing about this in any case. Take a tip from the optimism of the 85-year-old Jack Klugman, star of that perennial TV favorite “The Odd Couple.” (Jack played Oscar the messy guy.)

At age 85, Jack got married recently to his longtime girlfriend, Peggy Crosby. They decided to make it legal after 20 years. That’s optimism!

THAT LONG-running coffee klatch known as New York Women in Com munications will be giving out Matrix awards again on April 7. This time the honorees are Susan Gianinno for advertising, Anna Deavere Smith for the arts, Robin Roberts for broadcasting, Ruth Reichl for magazines, Linda Greenhouse for newspapers, Joannie C. Danielides for p.r., and Anne Sweeney for TV. Fashion’s Diane von Furstenberg receives a Lifetime Achievement award.

Now if only the organizers don’t have presenters presenting the presenters who then present to the winners, this famous lunch could end before sundown.

DONNY DEUTSCH came to meet me for breakfast at the Regency. He was fresh from the shower (his hair was wet) and he had on fabulous clothes. But his trademark shirttale was flapping out, and he doesn’t like to wear a jacket or a tie. It’s OK; he’s handsome and appealing enough to get away with crimes against haberdashery. Let’s just say he really stood out in this den of business “suits.”

Donny is different in many other ways. He is an “up.” He is a TV personality who isn’t in it to tear people down, attack them, vivisect them or do anything but turn their tales into the power of positive thinking. His ambition? To become the inspirational power broker that Oprah is to her female audience.

“Positive is the new black!” said Donny, a man after my own heart. His CNBC talk show has gone that route, and in just three short years his “Big Idea” has become must-see TV for people chasing the American dream. Donny plays host to Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Billy Joel, Sean Combs, Ron Perelman. They share their success stories. “People are tired of anger and negativity,” says this single dad whose net worth is $300 million plus charm and good looks. He sells himself better than the ads that made him rich in the past.

I like Donny best when he talks about his newborn daughter, Daisy, and her sister, London, an almost 5-year-old he loves like his own. He also has a grown stepdaughter Chelsey, 21. “I specialize in females!” says Donny. And he’s available. Wow.